Rowan University inducts undergraduate class of 2017

GLASSBORO — Rowan University inducted the Class of 2017 on Wednesday, welcoming new members of an undergraduate student body that continues to grow in both size and scope as the college moves toward becoming an accredited research facility in July.

As the university’s investment in the engineering and medical fields increases, with the college opening the Rowan School of Medicine in the upcoming year alongside a $46 million state grant for an addition to the engineering building, the demographics of the freshman class have changed significantly.

Rowan President Ali Houshmand announced in May that the university had received a total of 9,159 undergraduate applications for Fall 2013 with an additional 3,370 applications to the medical school.

Long gone are the days where the school was known largely as a teaching college that garnered interest only from the surrounding areas. Now, high school students from across the country seek out the university for its investment in medical sciences and its heralded engineering programs.

For the director of orientation and student leadership programs, Drew Tinnin, the change in the incoming class’ demographics is easy to notice.

According to Tinnin, the university has gotten more applications from out-of-state students than ever before. Tinnin also expects 20 international students to be enrolled as freshmen in the fall, which is a significant increase, he said.

This year’s class also has the highest average SAT scores in the university’s history, said Tinnin, partly attributable to an increased emphasis in science and technology.

“We’ve been able to become more selective in our admission process for sure,” he added.

Logistically, the school has had to make the transformation from one that largely catered to its Southern New Jersey region to one that now accepts students from across the country. A series of two-day summer orientation programs for incoming students and parents help with that process.

Meg Sickler works with university's Peer Referral and Orientation Staff, or PROS. Her job as a Parent PRO is to help the parents of incoming freshmen as their sons and daughters acclimate and assimilate into the college environment.

Sickler said there are common themes among all parents seeing the university for the first time, but many of the questions concern environmental issues rather than academic ones.

“The questions start with ‘What is all this construction?’ ” said Sickler, referencing the numerous building projects taking place on campus.

As a resident of Hamilton Township in Central Jersey herself, she agreed that there's been an increase in the number of students who come from outside the South Jersey region in recent years.

In the first orientation session this week, “I found more parents from Central Jersey than I did all last summer,” Sickler explained.

While international students do not arrive on campus or go through orientation until fall, Sickler has worked with the parents of international students previously. She says it’s surprising to hear how they ended up by choosing Rowan.

“It’s always exciting to learn about how they chose New Jersey,” said Sickler, adding that she has worked with parents from as far away as India. “What’s shocking is that most of the questions I get from them are about campus life.”

She said that once the incoming freshmen class and their parents get familiar with the campus through personal visits or structured orientation sessions, there are fewer questions from out-of-state and international students as well as their parents about how to best work their way into the culture of southern New Jersey.

They become more interested in what it’s like to live in Glassboro, she said.

Even though the Spargos aren’t from quite as far away as India, their story has become increasingly common around the university.

From Downingtown, Pa., Bonnie and Walt’s son Adam Spargo chose Rowan because of his interest in engineering and Rowan’s ranking as the 16th best out of 199 engineering schools in the country for its undergraduate engineering programs.

Adam said he had heard second-hand of the university’s commitment to the program since Henry Rowan’s $100 million endowment to the college about 20 years ago. The funds came with specific instructions to focus on expanding the college’s studies in science, engineering math and technology, with special emphasis on Mr. Rowan's own field of engineering.

“It is nice to know that they’re investing in the future,” said Adam. “I think the biggest reason I chose Rowan is the fact that you get a lot of hands-on experience later on in the program when you're a sophomore or junior.”

While Adam is already moving out of state and eventually wants to study abroad in either Australia or England, he says he still feels “comfortable” in the university environment.

Despite the growth and the acclaim, the former Glassboro State College that became Rowan University hasn’t lost its intimate feeling, he said. There's still a major emphasis on close teacher-student relationships and collaborative learning among small groups of students, Adam suggested.

For Adam Spargos and his parents, he said, that feeling and that emphasis ensures the institution's reputation over larger schools in the area.

Summer orientation for incoming Rowan freshman continues through next week.